Mt. Pleasant resident, born without uterus, fundraising with husband for in vitro

Allison and Mike Lents of Mt. Pleasant are newly married and hoping to start a family; Allison was born without a uterus, so the couple has started a fundraising campaign to have a surrgate carry their child. (Sun photo by LISA YANICK-JONAITIS/@lisayj_msun)

Prior to her marriage, Quast went to a fertility clinic to donate some of her eggs.

“I knew that I was going to need help having children, so I wanted to help somebody else have a child,” she said.

At that point, the doctor told her they wouldn’t accept her eggs.

Any donation she made, the clinic informed her, would significantly impair her chances to have children herself.

Furthermore, Quast was advised she should think about having children now, rather than later.

“So Mike and I talked about that, and that’s when we called Kristin,” Quast said.

The two phoned up friend Kristin Moutsatson and asked if she would be willing to carry their baby.

Moutsatson, who has had two children of her own, said she was blessed with favorable pregnancies and labors.

“I had always thought that since I had that gift, that being a surrogate for somebody someday ... would just simply be the right thing to do,” Moutsatson said.

While Moutsatson had mentioned in passing to friends that it wasn’t something she’d mind doing, she still never expected to be approached by a mother-to-be about it.

Regardless, she said, she’s as prepared as can be.

Lents said he was relieved that the couple had found somebody so easily.

As perfect as the situation is, Lents said, the couple is now working to pay for all of the fertility clinic and legal costs.

The couple has made adjustments to their family budget and has already invested $7,500 into the process, but the process of creating embryos, transferring them to Moutsatson and then paying the costs to adopt their genetic child is incredibly expensive, Quast said.

The two have set up a fundraising page at gofundme.com/LittleAllisons, where friends and family can donate and view an itemized list of expenses.

In addition, Lents said, family members are also performing individual fundraisers to help the couple out.

While the process is expensive, Quast said, she and her husband originally selected it because they anticipated it would be less expensive than adoption.

Overall, she said, costs are probably about the same.

Because Quast and Lents want a large family, the couple plans on fostering children in the future.

But because Quast’s time is running out, the two decided to take a shot on their “now or never” process.

“It was like all the ducks were lining up in a row to make this work at this time,” Quast said. “We feel like we have to take that opportunity now, because they might not line up again.”

Raising a child from birth will also prepare them to be foster parents, the two explained.

Both Quast and Moutsatson will start taking medication in December to sync their menstrual cycles.

Though the couple has raised $6,000 as of Monday, they plan on going forward with the process regardless of how much money is raised.

There’s nothing the couple would rather spend their money on than having their own child, Lents said.

Both are ready and excited to be parents.

“Regardless of whether or not it works, we’re still going to go forward,” Lents said. “It’s one of those situations where you only fail if you give up.”

About the Author

Randi Shaffer has been the Isabella County reporter for the Morning Sun since 2012. An alumna of CMU, she is in the process of obtaining her MSA degree. Obsessions include hockey, yoga and vegetables. Reach the author at rshaffer@michigannewspapers.com
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